Days 131 to 134: Catamayo, ECU to Chachapoyas, PER

Day 131: Catamayo, ECU to Piurna, PER ( 322 km)

Ecuador has been good to us all the way to the end: the last 2.5 hours of riding from Catamayo to the border have been a lot of fun: great twisties through mountains in sunny weather.

The border crossing went very smoothly as well. As soon as we get there, we are greeted by an ecuadorian official: ''Hello, inmmigration is this way, for the bikes you go there, and thank you very much for visiting Ecuuador''. Damn, what a contrast to the clusterfuck central american borders, where you have to figure it out all by yourself..lol.

Twenty minutes later, we are checking into Peru. Immigration goes super quick and the official is very friendly. We then move on to get the temporary import papers for the bikes. This takes a little longer, as the two custom agents have to enter a lot info into the computer. We chat with them while they work, fun guys. One of them recognized that my name is Polish, because he used to work in a port and sometimes drank with polish sailors...lol. Last step was to get the mandatory 35 USD liability insurance, and we're in Peru in just about 2 hours.

The first hours in Peru are disappointing. We get into the desert, it's flat, scorching hot and there's trash all over. The first town we drive into, Sullana, is a dump. We fail at finding an ATM and really don't want to stay there, so we continue another 100 km or so to Piurna. This town is larger and half decent, so we stay overnight. 

Hot, flat, straight and full of trash. Not a good first impression of Peru.

Day 132: Piurna, PER to Bagua Grande, PER (398 km)

The first half of the day was desert riding: hot, flat and straight. In the early afternoon, we finally reached the mountains. We were glad to see the temperature cool down, but on the downside it didn't take long until we caught rain.

Some interesting riding, at last.

This dam was a cool setting for a photo.

New and old.

Mihai's bike has been leaking some oil for a while (nothing serious; cam chain tensionner gasket), but that day he noticed that it got bad enough to change it ASAP. Fortunately, he had bought the gasket already in Medellin. We called it a day in a shitty town called Bagua Grande, and found a hotel with a garage, where Mihai could work on his DR.

The only interesting thing about Bagua Grande is that it is tuc tuc kingdom. Tuc tuc's (moto taxis) and cargo tuc tuc's are the main mean of transportation, whether it's taxis, private family vehicles or cargo movers. So far I've seen them all over South America, but never in such dominant numbers as in Bagua Grande.

Bagua Grande: tuc tuc kingdom

Day 133: Bagua Grande, PER to Chachapoyas, PER (120 km)

Short day of riding in the mountains, somehow spoiled by rain towards the end. It's still rain season here, and this is something we have to get used to for as long as we're in Peru.

Other than slippery tarmac, the other danger due to rain is that a lot of rocks are washed out on the road, and this is something we have to constantly watch out for. At some point, it started pouring, so we stopped on the side of the road to put our rain gear on. At that moment, a big rock fell right on the road, about 20 meters from us. That would have hurt...

No rain = happy Pawel.

20 minutes later...

We made it to Chachapoyas around 2 pm and called it a day. The plan was to stay 2 nights there, in order to take the following day off to visit the nearby Kuelap Inca ruins.

Chachapoyas itself is a small town with a cute centro, but you're done visiting in about an hour. The thing I'll remember the most from there is the 'bistec a lo pobre', a killer meal Mihai and I had there upon our arrival. We did go back for the same plate on the following day.

Bistec a lo pobre: steak, egg, plantains, avocado, rice,  french fries and salad. A killer meal: 100% satisfaction.

Day 134: Chachapoyas, PER

The next morning, we took a very cool 20-something km ride through the Kuelap ruins.

Here's a short description from the Lonely Planet book, just to give you an idea:

''Matched in grandeur only by the ruins of Machu Picchu, the fabulous ruins of this pre-Inca citadel, constructed between AD 900 and 1100.... The site receives remarkably few visitors, though those who make it get to see one of the most significant and impressive pre-Columbian ruins in South America.''

Well, the ruins were interesting, but that's pretty much it. I didn't think that they were a must see. I was mostly impressed by the location of the citadel, as it is in the middle of nowhere, on top of a mountain. Great location for defense purposes,  but not so much for the poor guys that had to build this thing. At 3000 m, I was out of breath just hiking to the site; I can't imagine if I had to haul and pile up big blocks of rock at that altitude...

A few pics from Kuelap:

The ride to kuelap was scenic.

Above the clouds... and lacking a bit of oxygen, I think...